Article of footwear.



H. R. STRAUSS.

ARTICLE 0F FOOTWEAR. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9, I9I5.

' z/EHZUF Y Patented Nov. 2O 191'?.

smarts rarniar rin.

HERBERT E. lS'LRATJ'SS, OF CLEVELAND HEIGHTSVILLGE, OHIO.

ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR.

maaier.

To all whom t may concern: j

Be it known that I, HERBERT R. STRAUSS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland Heights Village, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Articles of Footwear, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an article of footwear in the form of a shoe, and the general object is to provide a shoe having a large proportionate area of openings in the upper of the shoe, while being very durable and artistic in appearance. In carrying out the above object I have provided the usual sole and a skeleton of the upper composed of leather or other durable flexible material, with the intervening spaces occupied by an open net. The skeleton comprises Vnarrow vamp strips rising only a short distance from the sole along the greater portion of each side and terminating in a suitable short tip from which lead the strips for laces or buttons, which oin at their upper ends with the top strap, which in turn is joined with the heel portion rising from the counter. The intermediate space on each side of the shoe is occupied by the net referred to, which may be of any durable material having a comparatively large mesh, thus leaving a large area of the shoe very open. Features of this open net are that it permits most eX- cellent ventilation, reduces the weight of the shoe and provides eXtreme flexibility. When desired this open work netting may be made in ornate patternsand very pleasing effects may be procured by coloring the net in such a manner that it may blend or provide artistic contrast with the hose of the wearer.

My invention is particularly well adapted for athletic shoes, and another object of the invention is to provide a strap which may serve as an effective ankle brace and may be conveniently carriedtby the shoe, thereby relieving the strain on the netting when the shoe is in use. Another object is to protect the ankle joints of the wearer against injury, and this I accomplish by providing slidable pads arranged on the bracing straps and preferably positioned within the shoe. Other features of my invention will become apparent in the following description which refers to the drawings. The essential char- Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 20, 1917.

Application filed October 9, 1915i Serial No. 54,925.

acteristics are hereinafter set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a substantially horizontal section taken along the 'bracing strap for the ankle; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the upper portion of the shoe showing a portion of the bracing strap with a protector pad slidable thereon; Fig. 4; is a view of the strap removed with the protector `pads mounted `thereon indicated in broken lines.

.Vhilemy invention may be embodied in any form of boot or shoe desired, the drawings illustrate the same embodied in an athleticl shoe. Referring to these drawings by reference characters, 5 indicates the sole of the shoe which is shown as having a spring heel such as is commonly used in athletic shoes. Narrow vamp strips 6 rise only a short distance from the sole along `the greater portion of each side and terminate at their forward ends in an upwardly extending short tip 7. Leading from this tip are the strips 8 shown as carrying suitable eyelets 9 for laces, indicated at 10, although it is obvious that these strips might be adapted to be secured together in any suitable manner, as, for example, by buttons. At their upper ends these strips 8 are shown as integral with the top strip 12 of the upper, looping rearwardly around the shoe and joined at its rear portion with the heel portion 14 shown as rising from the counter 15 to which the rear portions of the vamp strips 6 are attached.

It will be noted from' the drawings that the vamp strips 6 are comparatively low, the tip 7 comparatively short, that the low counter, narrow heel portion and comparatively narrow strips for the laces, leave a large intervening space on each side of the shoe which is occupied by a suitable net indicated at 20. This net is shown as of a form similar to mosquito bar and is preferably made of sufliciently strong material to have the desirable wearing qualities. It is to be understood, however, that this net may be of any form desired, the necessary characteristics of the same being that it shall have very open mesh to provide the best possible ventilation, and still be of sutliciently strong material to withstand wearing strains to which it may be subjected.

It is frequently desirable in athletic shoes to provide an additional bracing means for the ankles. Accordingly, I have shown such a bracing means particularly adapted for my shoe comprising essentially a strap 25 threaded through slits 26 in widened portions 27 of the lacing stripes 8 and extending through apair of slits in the heel p0rtion 14, so arranged as to provide a short vertical strap 28 supporting ,the bracing strap' 25 at'this point; This bracing strap may be of any suitable form, preferably of leather vor like material provided with a suitable `securing means. I have shown Va buckle 80 on one end and the vother end` of the strap is provided with holes 31 adapted to receive the tongue of the buckle. n

With a shoeof the usual form the mat-'ef rial comprising the upper is of a compara` tively heavy material which may serve as a more or less effective ankle brace in itself if the shoe fits properly and tightly enough to permit the upper to be drawn snugly about the ankle bymeans of the lacing. Such shoes, however, are usually very imcoinfortably warm if laced tight enough to serve as an ankle brace. This undesirable feature is accentuated if additional bracing 'straps are provided for the ankle, outsideiof such shoe. With 'my invention, however, I have provided inost excellent ventilation around the ankles as 'wellas over the greater part of the foot and have also provided an ankle bracing means which does not materially in# terfere with such ventilation and accordinglj'fvdoes not cause chang or discomfort from the heat. At the same time this ankle bracing strap relieves undue strain on the open net work of the shoe, thereby matcrially prolonging the life of the same.

I t is Afurther desirable `to protect the ankle joints from injury such as those due toy one foot striking theother, or due to being hit by a ball, when the shoes are worn by ball players. Accordingly, I have provided substantially circular pads 35 adapted to proi tect each side of the ankle joint. These pads are preferably carried by the strap 25 on the inside of the shoe and have a transverse strap 32 integral with a portion of the pad and cut therefrom by suitable parallel slits through which the strap 25 may extend, thereby supporting the pads and permitting them to be adjusted longitudinally of the strap 25. This longitudinal adjustment is ciisI-bf this patear may be attained for five cents each, by'ddfssing'fhr Washi1`1g`ton,`D.C.i 7

a desirable feature in that the size of the ankle of different Wearers may` vary. This adjustment allows proper positioning of the pads. with relation to rthe proportionate length of the strap 25 required to encircle the ankle.` y From the foregoing description it will become apparent that the formand purpose of the shoe is immaterial andthat my'invention may provide an excellently ,ventilated shoe for any purpose, and, ash'eretofo're stated, the net may be arranged inornate patterns and of such 'colors as to provide very artistic effects. 4 Y l Y Having thus described myinventio'n, what Iclaimis: j 1 l. In a shoe, the combinationrof a sole`,a skeleton of an upper, a net work fabric 'o ccupying the interveningspace betweentlre members of the skeleton, and an anklebrzic-l ing strap carried bythe memberso'ftlie skeleton and adapted textendV around the ankle. A

2. In a shoe, the combinationo'lj ar sole, a skeleton of an upper, a nehmrkjfabric occupying the intervening spa'cebetween the` members of the skeleton, an, ankle bracnig` strap arriedby the members ofthe skeleton and adapted to extend aro-und the ankle, and pads slidably carried o'nfsaid' strap and adapted to be positioned to p'rtect the ankle joint. g

Y 3. The combination, in aslioe, of a sole, skeleton of an upper comprising a counter,

a heel strip rising therefrom, strips for laces and a top strip connecting the heel strip and. the last named strips, ,said heel Vstripv and last named strips having openings inthe form `of slits, a strap adapted to occupy these openings `and extend' around` the ankle, `a buckle-fastening means on 'thew'strap, and pads on the strap adapted to be positioned over the anklejoints. Y j j 4. The combinationina shoe, of a sole, a

skeleton of an upper comprising ancounter,"

a heel strip rising therefrom, front 4strips forfrfastenings, and `a top s'tripconneeting. the heel strip and the'fastening strips, said fastening strips having openings, and ankle Vstrap adapted to occupy`s`aid openinea` Y\ In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiiix'niy signature. ,f i HERBERTRI STRAUSS.y 

